Revved up for Sturgis

Hub City paramedic enjoys lending hand at motorcycle rally

Hub City paramedic enjoys lending hand at motorcycle rally

August 04, 2008|By Emily Arthur-Richardt, earthur@aberdeennews.com

Bob Braun's first trip to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally didn't exactly go as planned. "It was 1975," the 52-year-old Aberdeen man said. "And I made it to Sturgis in the back of an ambulance." Braun was in a motorcycle accident, and while he wasn't seriously hurt, the accident might have been a predictor of his many trips back to Sturgis. Almost every one has been spent in an ambulance. Only now, Braun, a paramedic for Aberdeen Fire and Rescue, isn't the patient; he's on the ambulance crew. "I enjoy doing it," he said. "I must be an idiot. It's crazy out there." About 10 years ago, Braun was asked by a former employee at the Aberdeen department if he would like to work at Sturgis. He accepted and has spent nine of the last 10 years at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, working for Meade County. Each year, paramedics from different areas of the state are hired to provide extra help to the ambulance service. While the rally officially starts today, Braun began working on Friday and won't finish until Sunday. "(Meade County) tries to cover most of it themselves," Braun said. "But they don't want the employees to get too burned out either." Braun works the 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift, catching a few minutes of sleep between calls. He works in crews of two or three people on an ambulance, and it's not unusual for calls to come in one right after another, he said. The ambulance service he works for has seven total ambulances - although some are used only as backups, Braun said. "You can probably get a couple of years experience in a week out there," he said. "...Down there, you move. You don't have time to play. Everything is done en route to the hospital." Braun, who has worked for Aberdeen Fire and Rescue for 20 years, takes vacation days from the Aberdeen department to go work in Sturgis, but he said he likes doing it. A few Aberdeen police officers also do the same thing each year. While the calls that come in can be unusual - there's a reason his fellow co-workers out there know him as "maggot man," he said - most are similar to what he would see in Aberdeen. Some calls involve locals, but most are rally related, he said. "The calls are the same as they are here," he said. "There's just more of them." Braun said he doesn't mind. He enjoys the work. But he also enjoys his downtime. He takes a camper down and stays in it when he's not working. And he travels with his motorcycle. "I like going down there and going for some rides," he said. Reporter Emily Arthur-Richardt; (605) 622-2314 or 1-800-925-4100 ext. 314.